And if smarmy, pointless advertising weren't offensive enough, take a look at how USbank illegally sells their customer's private information.

Stupid advertising plus stupid practices does a stupid company make.

MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL HATCH SUES U.S. BANK FOR DISCLOSING CUSTOMERS' PRIVATE  INFORMATION TO TELEMARKETER SUIT COMES ON HEELS OF OCC CHAIRMAN'S LABELING OF SIMILAR PRACTICES 'SEAMY' & DECEPTIVE.

ST. PAUL, Minn., Jun 8, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch  announced a lawsuit today against U.S. Bank for allegedly releasing customers' private banking information to a telemarketing company in exchange for a fee of $4 million plus commissions, some of which Hatch said were generated through bogus, unauthorized charges by the telemarketing company. Defendant US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is a multistate bank holding company and the parent of U.S. Bank. Hatch alleges that U.S. Bank violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and engaged in consumer fraud and deceptive advertising by providing the telemarketing vendor with such private information as Social Security numbers, account balances and transactions and credit limits.

"People are appropriately careful about protecting their Social Security number, checking and credit card  information," said Hatch. "When a bank hands out this information to the highest bidder, it has to answer to its customers and to the Attorney General's Office."

Specifically, U.S. Bank provided Member Works Inc. with the following information for its customers: name, address, telephone numbers of the primary and secondary customer, gender, marital status, home ownership status, occupation, checking account number, credit card number, Social Security number, birth date, account open date, average account balance, account frequency information, credit limit, credit insurance status, year to date finance charges, automated transactions authorized, credit card type and brand, number of credit cards, cash advance amount, behavior score, bankruptcy score, date of  last payment, amount of last payment, date of last statement, and statement balance.

Since November 1996 U.S. Bank has received over $4 million plus commissions 3/4 commissions equal to 22 percent of each sale. Member Works made 3/4 from the provision of its customers' private information to Member Works. Member Works used the U.S. Bank customer data to sell memberships in a health program that allowed members to get discounts on dental and health care visits.

Hatch also alleges that in addition to providing confidential customer information, U.S. Bank approved telemarketing scripts that contained deceptive information. For example, if a customer asked a  telemarketer if U.S. Bank had given the customer's credit card or checking account number to the telemarketer, the script instructed the telemarketer to answer "No, I personally do not have your account number."

Hatch alleges that U.S. Bank violated federal law and banking rules by allowing the telemarketing company to automatically withdraw payments from a checking account without written authorization from the consumer.

Federal and state regulatory agencies require banks to publish privacy policies telling consumers how their personal information will be used, who has access to the information and if the bank intends to give its  personal information to nonaffiliated third parties. U.S. Bank has a privacy policy printed in its U.S. Bank Customer Agreement that says "We share your  concerns about the privacy of your personal information and strive to  maintain its confidentiality." Nothing in the bank's agreement reveals that personal, confidential information is being sold to companies that are not affiliated with U.S. Bank. Hatch also said at the press conference that none of U.S. Bank's consumer brochures disclose to customers that their names and account information could be sold to a third party.

Hatch is asking that the court prohibit the bank's exchange of customers' personal information and order the bank to pay civil penalties to consumers. Hatch also called upon Congress to enact legislation to protect consumers' rights to financial privacy.

On Monday, U.S. Comptroller of the Currency John Hawke condemned practices like those described above as "seamy," unfair and deceptive. (Wall Street Journal, June 8, 1999.)

Consumer Tips: If consumers are concerned about protecting personal information, they should write to businesses and charities and ask them not to sell  their name. Attorney General Hatch advises following these steps:

1- When doing business with a company, tell them not to sell your name. Companies are required to keep "do not sell" lists. If you order a magazine or open a bank account, ask the company not to sell your name. U.S. Bank Customers can call U.S. Bank at 612-872-2657 or1-800-872-2657.

2- Take an inventory of charities, companies and other organizations that you do business with. Write to them and ask them not to sell or give out your name.

3- Write to the three major credit bureaus and ask to "Opt Out" of the preapproved credit lists they sell to companies. Call 888-567-8688. Opt Out may expire after two years.

4- Remove your name from marketers' unsolicited mailing lists. Write to the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service, Post Office Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735.

For more information, contact the Minnesota Attorney General's Consumer Assistance Hotline at: 651-296-3353 or 800-657-3787. TTY numbers are: 651-297-7206 or 800-366-4812.

The complaint is posted on the Attorney General's web site at http://www.ag.state.mn.us

SOURCE: Minnesota Attorney General's Office (C) 1999 PR  Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.prnewswire.com CONTACT: Lori Swanson, 651-205-4786 or Jennifer Freeman, 651-297-5268.